Unaka outlasted Cloudland in a wild one on Saturday morning.
The Rangers rallied for an 18-8 victory over the ‘Landers in the first District 1-A Tournament elimination game of the day at Sullivan East on Saturday.
With the win, Unaka advanced to take on North Greene in the final elimination game of the day, while Cloudland’s season came to a close with the loss.
Cloudland struck first as Walker Gouge took advantage after an Unaka error when Jacob Whitaker put the ball in play. Tristan Lowery gave CHS a 2-0 lead after he scored on a wild pitch.
Unaka countered as Jaycob Niddiffer hit a double to lead off the inning and scored in the next at-bat as Logan Lewis put the ball in play. Robert Humphrey hit a double to score Lewis, while Humphrey scored off a Cameron Prince single to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead after an inning of play.
The ‘Landers got on the board as Thomas Job scored after Lowery put the ball in play, while Whitaker hit a double that plated Jonah Tomberlin and Gouge. CHS pushed the lead to 6-3 after Lowery scored on a passed ball.
Unaka was able to get two base runners on base with two outs in the home side of the frame, but CHS kept the Rangers from scoring during the frame.
The ‘Landers extended the lead as Tomberlin hit a single for the ‘Landers that allowed Job to score on the ensuing throw, while Cloudland pushed the lead to 8-3 as Tomberlin scored off a Gouge double.
Unaka, however, battled back.
After a Rylan Crabtree single and a Prince walk, Brycen Eggers put the ball in play and scored Crabtree. Prince was able to cross home plate after Conner Vines had a sac fly, while Eggers scored after Nidiffer hit the ball into a CHS error.
Logan Lewis tied the game as he hit a single to score Cooper Shanks and Nidiffer as the third ended tied up at 8-8.
The ‘Landers looked to strike again in the top of the fourth by loading the bases with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the frame.
Unaka continued to have the momentum in the home side of the fourth as a walk scored Crabtree to regain the lead for the Rangers. Shanks hit a single that scored James Davison and Prince, and a Nidiffer double plated Vines and Shanks.
Nidiffer and Lewis crossed home plate on a Crabtree double. The big inning was capped as Crabtree scored to give Unaka a 16-8 advantage after four complete.
The ‘Landers were unable to get anything going in the top of the fifth, and the Rangers saw Vines and Shanks score in the bottom of the fifth to secure the win.
Crabtree went 4-for-5 with three RBI to lead Unaka, while Lewis was 2-for-3 with three RBI. Nidiffer had two hits and two RBI. Vines added two RBI.
Whitaker had three RBI for CHS, while Gouge, Lowery, Whitaker, and Tomberlin each had a hit.
